Liverpool Bound

I am so excited to announce that we are moving to the UK! And we are moving soon, as in January!

St George's hall, the largest neoclassical building in Europe

I know that the blog has been silent for a long time. This summer we have been on trips to Canterbury and to Prague and while they were both beautiful and I had photos to share I didn't post because I was not feeling too positive about the way life was going. Spain is a beautiful country and I will always have a space in my heart for it, but it was not enough. DH is miserable in his job, I have no job (have you heard the state of Spain's economy?), and both of us are more "early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise" kind of people.

My new flag

Just as DH was going to give up on his academic career, he got an interview, and a 39 hour mini-trip to Liverpool ensued. I went along as flights were cheap and the interview fell on our 11th wedding anniversary. We found out the next morning that he was being offered the job!

a LJMU building

We are so excited. Both of us has wanted in live in the UK for quite some time. From everything that I have heard, seen or experienced the culture will be a better match for us.

The central library, which sounds like a wondrous place

There was not much time to explore, but at least it didn't rain. Everything that I saw was in a two mile (3.2km) radius from the city centre.

A real autumn!

Even though I am a Beatles fan, I sadly realized that I would not have to the time to see anything Beatles related. Luckily now I will have loads of time!

Liverpool One, a truly massive pedestrian mall with all sorts of shops.

I have a lot of information to share with you about what a cool city Liverpool is, but that will have to wait until after we finish the move.

Canning Dock, and an example of modern vs old architecture

So I will leave you with this announcement and some scenic photos of the city centre and go chip away at the mountainous to-do-list that every international move generates.

This is a Superlambanana, a symbol of Liverpool

Superlambanana

The three Graces, beautiful buildings along the docks.

The church of our Lady and St Nicolas

Lincoln

Somewhere in England in the East Midlands is the country of Lincolnshire, and nestled in amongst the farmlands is it's capitol city, Lincoln. It is quite possibly the cutest English town that I have ever seen.

View of the fields from the train.

Lincoln, while far off the beaten track, is well worth a visit. There has been a colony, town or city located there since 100BC. Because it has be around so long there are relics from every age: From the early axes and log boats found in Brayford pool and housed at the local museum...

Brayford pool

To the lasting remnants of a thriving 12th century Jewish community.

Jew's house is now a restaurant

To the gothic architecture of one of England's most notable Cathedrals.

The cathedral in the golden dusk

To the many tutor houses in the town centre.

The tudor visitor centre

To today where the only 18 year old Lincoln University is combing the old with the new and growing rapidly into a top class university.

University blend of old and new

Lincoln's University library

My husband and I found ourselves in Lincoln last Thursday after a harrowing journey involving an international taxi strike, delayed planes, and a complex train schedule. As usual while with my DH in England the weather was shockingly perfect. We spent what was left of the evening having a meal in a pub and simply walking around the town centre admiring the view. I was pleased to note that there is the same rose-gold slant to the evening light here as there is in France and Spain. While we were eating our dinner, on the back patio of the pub, five of the Red Arrows from the local RAF base did a fly over trailing red white and blue. I didn't have time to grab the camera so no photos, but I do know that they were probably practicing for flying over the Lincoln Festival on Saturday evening.

The next day dawned clear and warm I went off exploring on my own as DH had an appointment at the University. As this was the second time that my DH had been here I headed off to do some of the more touristy things on my own. It was a great feeling to wander about and know that if I was lost or need help I could just ask in my native tongue. 

Memorial in front of a small church

I went to the castle first. Lincoln Castle is up the aptly named Steep Hill road. The entrance fee was remarkably cheap, but the man whom sold me my tickets explained that I could only really go into the gardens and a small section of the wall. The castle is mostly closed for massive renovations and when it re-opens in April 2015 I hope that I get to see it. The plans for the renovations look super cool.

Castle tower from the outside 

The was the castle's last line of defense

Just across the square is the this gem of architecture. I walked completely around it before popping my head inside. Supposedly there are Roman mosaic ruins and a medieval library inside, unfortunately I did not have the time to see them. The Cathedral usually displays an original copy of the Manga Carta but it is on tour now and will come back for it's anniversary next year.

Even the outside had flying buttresses

Main call of the cathedral from the door

 One thing I really like about Lincoln is that they seem to really want to integrate historic structures into everyday modern life. Below is a medieval gate still in use for traffic, and there is also the only Roman gate still used for traffic in the world inside Lincoln as well.

To one side of the Cathedral is the ruins of the bishop's palace. Which was destroyed in an earthquake hundreds of years ago and never rebuilt. It is well worth the price of admission and to get the audio guide. Also I have seen online that they might do Shakespeare in the park here! That would be so fun.

So that is it, a short a sweet visit to Lincoln. I hope someday I might be lucky enough to call a place like this home. 

London 4

This was our last day in London, but we did not have a flight until later in the afternoon. I was on my own for the morning so I decided to spend that morning in the National Gallery.

I got there before the museum opened though, and so I strolled around Trafalgar square for a bit taking in the sites. (I'll admit to it raining a little this morning.)

St Martins-in-the-Field

There are four plinths in Trafalgar Square, the statue that was to go on the fourth plinth was never finished, so now the plinth is used to display different artistic pieces. Hence the blue rooster.

Art on the fourth plinth 

You can't tell from this picture but this is one of four Lion's at the base of Nelson's column, these lions are massive. Sitting at one of the lion's feet was a young woman putting on ballerina shoes while a friend took a picture. It was enchanting and I wish I knew the back story or had the courage to take a photo myself.

One of the lion at the base of Nelson's column

My first trip to London (and really the only time I had spent any time in the city) was when I was 13 years old. I really did not remember much about that trip, including the fact that I had already been to the National Gallery before. The memories came flooding back to me as I entered the galleries that hold the impressionistic paintings. There I remember my mom (who majored in art) showing me the works of Monet, Van Gogh, Pissaro, Degas etc. and showing me how to first look at the painting up close and then cross the room to look again to see the magic of the painting coming together. This is the museum  that sparked my love for impressionism. A beautiful memory.

Fountain and National Gallery

All to soon it was lunch time and I made my Picadilly Circus to meet my husband and a friend of his for lunch.

Unbelievably, we had some excellent Mexican food. It was wonderful to catch up with Javi's friend, and all too soon it was time for him to go back to work. So we made our way back to the hotel room, snapping photos and looking through book stores on the way.

The theater district and China Town touch, or are melded (never did find out which). There was a wonderful mix of pubs, theater signs and beautiful buildings.

I know that I could live here. I loved every minute of my time in London.

London 3 - Embrace the chaos

This was the day when my DH was in a conference to well into the night, so I explored on my own. Exploring a foreign city on your own should be something that everyone does at least once. At least when I do it, it is a time of great self-reflection and self-discovery. 

It can be very scary to be surrounded by the unknown and unfamiliar (which is why you look both ways 5 or six times and then RUN when you are crossing the street in England). It is very confidence building to know you transverse foreign cities in stride (or at least pretend to).

This day, will be a day I long remember. It was one of those days where you discover the truths right in front of your face, when you learn where you need to make the changes in your attitude. A day, where I learned that you have to "Embrace the Chaos" - but more on that later

The first thing I did was something I did not do when I first went to London (when I was 13 years old), and that is to visit Buckingham Palace and St James Park. 

Canada gates

At around 10am the sky cleared in it was a magnificent day.

Canada gates

 Basically I did not have a plan. There are so many thing to see in London that I decided that any one of would be splendid and walked around the palace and the parks surrounding it.

Old Buck house

The royal gates, unicorn and all

Duck pond St James park

I sat in front of the duck pond on a bench in the sunlight and knitted for a while while checking my email. It was very relaxing, travel is more relaxing if ever so often you take the time to breathe. But soon it was time to meet my lunch date in Convent Garden, so I started walking back to the underground. On the way, I past this building and did the touristy thing and snapped a photo because the Royal guards were in front. (You can't do that at the Palace, they are way behind the gate at the Palace.)

St James palace - clock tower house

A marvelous building

One of advantages/disadvantages of being an expat is that your fellow expat friends are always moving. It is am obvious disadvantage if they move away, but sometimes while you travel you can reconnect with them. A friend of mine, who I wish I knew better, just recently moved to London and she was able to meet up with me for lunch and a spot of bead shopping. We met in Covent Garden which is a beautiful neighborhood (although not very garden-y) but I was too busy chatting to get photos. The bead store was fabulous and huge so I will post this image taken from their site and link to their website. 

Then we meandered our way into China town for lunch. Lunch was just what I needed. The food was good but the conversation was priceless. The thing is, that most of the expats I know in Madrid are either younger than me (more energy and optimism) or are busy with their children. Being able to talk to a like-minded fellow expat my age was...amazing. She has been reflecting on the expat life a lot recently and at that lunch she gave me my new mantra: "Embrace the Chaos". She had been thinking on it, and good part of culture - is expectations about how things should be, and they should be done. What is unthinkable in one culture, can be acceptable in another culture. Even little cultural differences can make it hard to adjust to the new culture. 

Culture structures your life within your society, without that structure life can seem very chaotic and not make much sense, hence "Embrace the Chaos" being a good mantra. We all have no real idea how our lives are going to be in 5 years. Truth is, life changing events happen all the time. The trick is to figure out how to embrace the change and let it take-you-where-it-will rather than fighting it. It is the fighting for what you think is right, even though in the grand scope of thing it is not really a big deal, that uses up all your energy, that makes you feel like an outcast. Being a happy expat it a lot about letting your expectations of how things should be go, and trying the new.

After I left Adele I stopped in a John Lewis (it is a department store and they have yarn, although I did not buy any), and then made my way back to the underground and to the Victoria and Albert Museum.

I went to the V&A because it is known for housing some of the best textile and design collections in the world. Luckily, I marched right up to the information desk and asked where to find them (it is a huge museum), because...bad news...those collections are not there anymore. The good news for everyone else is that apparently there is going to be a new museum just for Textile and Design, but it is not open yet. I probably should have gone across the street to the Science museum then, but the helpful information people told me where to find that medieval textiles and I wandered up to look at tapestries, pillows, rooms of gold and clothing. What I saw was not bad, I had just been excited to see actual knitting (and a knitting lab) in a classy museum like the V&A.